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#009: Zephyr’s Meteoric Rise and What It Means for the Future of Embedded
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In today’s Coredump Session, we dive into the origins and evolution of Zephyr RTOS with Kate Stewart, VP of Dependable Embedded Systems at the Linux Foundation. From Intel’s early ambitions to a thriving global community, Kate unpacks how Zephyr grew into a leading open-source RTOS and what makes it uniquely resilient and developer-friendly. This conversation also explores the technical shifts shaping embedded development and how governance, safety, and collaboration continue to steer Zephyr’s trajectory.
Speakers:
- Kate Stewart: Vice President of Dependable Embedded Systems, The Linux Foundation
- François Baldassari: CEO & Founder, Memfault
- Thomas Sarlandie: Field CTO, Memfault
Key Takeaways:
- Zephyr was born from Intel’s desire for a scalable, secure, and open RTOS, evolving from Wind River roots.
- Early adoption of Linux-inspired practices, like Kconfig and "signed-off-by" contributions, lowered friction and encouraged community participation.
- The project’s governance model, emphasizing multi-vendor participation and elected leadership, prevents corporate capture and boosts resilience.
- Zephyr’s pragmatic reuse of tools like MCUboot accelerated development and expanded capabilities.
- Long-term support (LTS) releases—now extended to five years—make Zephyr production-friendly and aligned with regulatory demands like the CRA.
- Innovations like the Twister test framework and open testing infrastructure set Zephyr apart for visibility and maintainability.
- Zephyr thrives as complexity in embedded systems increases, filling the gap left by simpler RTOSes ill-suited for modern MCU workloads.
- Not every project is a fit for Zephyr—especially ultra-low-end 8-bit systems—but it excels in growing, connected device classes.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
04:12 Building Zephyr: Intel’s Open RTOS Bet
06:39 Governance That Guards Against Capture
08:10 Borrowing From Linux, Avoiding Its Baggage
09:41 What Makes Zephyr Different
13:55 Zephyr in Production: LTS and Real-World Adoption
16:15 Scaling with Twister and QEMU
18:15 Taming Complexity Without Losing Performance
35:45 SBOMs and the Future of Compliance
38:20 A Head Start on Security Standards
43:02 Inside Zephyr's Safety Certification Journey
46:44 Real-World Use Cases and Industry Uptake
50:25 What's Next for Zephyr and the RTOS Landscape
53:12 Final Reflections and Closing Thoughts
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